We see advertisements every day, whether we’re out, on the internet, or just sitting at home watching tv. Most times, people do not think anything about them or what they could truly mean. Advertisements such as commercials or billboards can show anything to promote something. They can target a person’s emotions or have them ponder about what it is implying. A commercial made by Dove about Self-esteem certainly opened the world’s eyes. It used rhetorical devices to make its commercial appeal to the audience. Dove is portraying the media as trying to interpret beauty in a way that is not true. The appeal of logos, ethos, and pathos are all included in the commercial as well as other rhetorical devices. However, the general audience who will watch the commercial can be affected if they might have low self-esteem and this adds to the commercial’s main purpose thus promoting its success. Overall, the persuasiveness and success of this commercial towards its audience are given by the primary appeal of pathos that is used appropriately with a connecting balance of logos and ethos as well as other rhetorical elements.
The pathos appeal is a heavy factor in this commercial. As the commercial opens, a woman is seen bare-faced at first and throughout the video, people are putting makeup on her. She is being made “pretty.” Towards the end of the commercial, it shows the woman’s picture being photoshopped. This might have triggered people to be watching because why photoshop her? Was she not pretty enough in the first place? Dove wants people to know that this is what happens to most advertisements or magazines that individuals see each day. That pictures are photoshopped to change the world’s perception of beauty. The commercial relies on pathos to make people upset about what happens in advertisements or pictures in the media. The commercial grabbed the attention of many who believe that anyone, women, in particular, do not need makeup or photoshop to call themselves beautiful. A person who has low self-esteem might see a picture of a woman who has been photoshopped or changed in their true appearance and is discouraged. Dove did a compelling job in impacting the viewers with little confidence in themselves and letting them know they do not support this act. For instance, at the end of the commercial the words “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.” show up on the screen to make it clear to their audience their intentions of the Dove Self-esteem Fund in hopes of attracting supporters. Although the advertisement mostly appeals to women, men can also get a sense of pathos in it too. The men who are being portrayed as the ideal man or good-looking are often men with muscular bodies.
The average man does not look like this but it gives off the notion that any individual who does not look like the one the media displays is not good-looking therefore making people disheartened. This dofamagessocietydamages our perception of what beauty looks like because society has put the assumption in people’s minds. Dove is further implying that what is “beautiful” is not just what the media shows. They want others to know that their brand does not promote such things and therefore persuade people to support them by reaching them on a more personal level.
Seconds in the commercial, the word “evolution” comes up on the screen. The audience will not take much notice to it other than that being the title but if going into detail about what it could mean, evolution is the gradual development or change in something. The woman depicted in the video is being developed or changed to being beautiful. The process of her evolution will grab the viewer’s attention because they want to know how she will change into another form. Again, this is another play on pathos in the commercial because the title itself leads to the assumption that individuals need to change to be beautiful for sciety. Although the music in the background does not add anything to the pathos appeal, Others feel that it has no words emphasizing that the advertisers want people to focus on what is happening rather than get distracted from background music.
Even though the pathos appeal is heavily relied on in this commercial, ethos is also used to capture the view of the audience. In the commercial, there is no celebrity or anurture famous individual seen throughout the video. The only person that was focused on was an average woman. Dove did this to make their actions and the advertisement more believable and not seem like they are just trying to promote themselves. If they had an actress play the woman who was being it, yes it would attract more people to its audience but everyone will most likely see it as the actress getting paid to be involved in the commercial for more viewers. This makes the commercial better in terms of ethos because they chose an ordinary woman instead of a celebrity. There are others who feel as though celebrities who are in commercials are just doing it for the money and they do not care about the product or brand. With Dove deciding on an ordinary person also guarantees that people will not take it as a regular commercial to promote its brand by using a celebrity which in return
adds credibility to the commercial. Dove is not being straightforward with their advertisement but rather being subtle about it by using an average character. A rhetorical element that Dove used is their logo for Dove’s Self-esteem Fund as the last thing on the screen before it ends. This makes the commercial even more realistic and believable to the audience and therefore encourage them to look further into the project. Furthermore, by using the ordinary woman, it sends the message to people that they need to focus on themselves and about inner beauty rather than what they look like because if a celebrity was used, people would focus more on the actress than the main idea of the commercial. The fact that the woman is average ties both ethos and pathos together in a way because the people who value inner beauty are going to find the commercial influential and effective. Dove also displayed consequentialism in their commercial. ConsequentalismConsequentialis is the idea that there will be consequences if the idea shown is not done. It determines whether an act is morally right or wrong depending on the consequences. They give off the normative ethics of consequentialism in the advertisement because they are basically stating that by the media photoshopping pictures to show the world, they are also discouraging individuals in the process and that is wrong.
The logos appeal in the commercial is presented clearly but also provides the audience to look deeper into their message and intention. Saying that our perception of beauty is distorted is indicating that photoshop is used all the time by the media and advertisers but Dove does not is Dove reasoning with its audience to participate in their Self-esteem Fund. By doing this, Dove implies that society will continue to alter the minds of people if others do not start taking action and getting more informed about having better confidence in themselves and their appearances. They have also committed the “Begging the Claim” logical fallacy in the process because they implied that all brands or advertisements photoshop their pictures without giving evidence. Towards the end of the commercial, “Take part in the Dove Real Beauty Workshops for Girls” is said on the screen. The word “real” in the sentence adds to Dove’s logic and reasoning towards being happy with one’s self. The Dove’s symbol for their brand adds to the logos appeal because it is a dove. Doves are known for being a symbol of their innocence and purity. Moreover, the brand Dove will be seen as true to their word in helping individuals with their confidence and self-esteem self-esteem.
The fact that this advertisement was seen on television is appropriate because there is no one time that it should be shown. The Dove commercial can work for any point in time. There are always people who feel as though they are not good enough because of the things they see on the internet or an on real-lifebillboardlife billboards. When Dove shows the process of how pictures are photoshopped to make them look the way they are, it will give individuals a sense of reassurance that Dove is not for that.
This Dove advertisement did a very effective job at persuading its audience to realize what happens to their perception of beauty because of the media and society. They were convincing in their commercial by applying the pathos appeal heavily to real life processes and in turn became a influentialanin part of the advertisement. Ethos used messages and realistic views to gain the audience’s trust on their brand and their intent which grabbed their attention. By taking logos elements, Dove provided their audience with their fund name and encouraged them to participate in it. By doing that, they persuade their audience to do more research on their fund and look for more information about it. This ad is believed to be successful innurtureintentions of reassurance and delivering a good message to its viewers.
